The 5th Plinth Sculpture
An interview with Molly Okell, the winner of the The 5th Plinth sculpture competition at Morley College London.
Morley student Molly Okell is the winner of the The 5th Plinth sculpture competition. Her Holst Sculpture will welcome students and visitors at the entrance to the College.
Can you tell us about your current practice?
My current work explores the fabrics used in construction and the relationship between functional and non-functional forms. A construction site can mirror a site-specific installation in many ways: placement of objects within a specified space and their interrelationship with the location. Inspired by the construction site's unintentional assemblage and visual drama, I attempt to mimic some of the arbitrary placement of objects while deliberately challenging the materials' functional use.
What about The 5th Plinth sculpture?
The interplay and layering of materials are the basis for my sculptural forms - floating, fragile elements offset dense forms to create a restless harmony. The 5th Plinth sculpture is a response to Gustav Holst's The Planets Suite and it allowed me to play with materials in response to music. The approach I took was less about planets as solid forms and more about the essence and characteristics of each planet. I am interested in the materiality of sculpture and how the forms become building blocks to create a whole. Within the proposed sculpture these elements interact and relate to each other creating layers, shapes, planes, crevices and reflections in conjunction with positive and negative spaces.
Holst's work often appears to me as cyclical rather than linear as well as self-referential with both disruptive and flowing rhythms. My intention was to express the complexity of the music with its combined solidity and transience. My sculptural process aimed to reflect Holst's approach by using an instinctive curiosity of composition and alignment to create something modern and challenging.
Do you have any other upcoming projects?
I am currently working on a set of screen prints and monotypes inspired by construction sites in both Peckham and Ramsgate where I have my studio.
On graduating from the Royal College of Art (MA Animation) Molly's practice has included film, printmaking and sculpture. She has worked in the media industry for 15 years and is currently a Senior Lecturer at the University for the Creative Arts.